Just after 10 a.m. on Election Day, two School Board opponents in the Sleepy Hole borough crossed paths outside the Church of God and Saints of Christ, polling location in the Belleharbor precinct.

There were no harsh words, though. Jim Perkinson and David Mitnick stood chatting amiably, with voters and each other, while handing out fliers. The absent party in the three-person contest was Charles Leavell.

Just after 11 a.m., School Board incumbent Linda Bouchard, challenged by Dorothy Gamble, stood in front of Ruritan Hall in Eclipse infused with energy.

Working to connect with as many voters as possible in the Chuckatuck borough’s Ebenezer precinct, Bouchard declared she was “as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof.”

“I don’t have any belief in anything until I see the results,” she added.

About 10 hours later, when a reporter rang to deliver news of their respective victories, Mitnick and Bouchard were relieved it was all over — Bouchard especially.

Asked if she was relieved, Bouchard, who took 54 percent of the vote, replied, “Is the pope from Argentina? I’m just very, very glad it’s over. I just absolutely hate politics and I just hate having to go through this just in order to do a job that needs to be done by somebody that’s willing.”

“I feel very relieved,” Mitnick said. “I worked very hard. I’m excited about the opportunity that’s before me.”

Meanwhile, the third School Board winner Tuesday who faced a challenger — in his case, Thelma Hinton, a former colleague on the board — Michael Debranski said he was happy citizens had given him another chance “to improve the plight of the kids in Suffolk.”

Mitnick, who won with 42 percent against Perkinson’s 38 percent and Leavell’s 19 percent, and Debranski, who took 55 percent of the vote against 45 percent for Hinton, pointed to a clean sweep in City Council elections that they hope will mean a school district strengthened by greater local support for public education.

“There are three new faces all in favor of public education, and I’m happy,” said Debranski, the School Board’s chairman.

“I was feeling good to begin with, but this makes me feel great. We were looking for support, and the citizens gave it to us.”

Mitnick said the three new faces on City Council have “expressed an interest in getting more support to the schools.”

“Everybody was looking very closely at the three incumbents, and there was a feeling that if two were unseated, that was going to be great,” he added. “The fact that three were unseated just means that getting a budget passed is going to be a whole lot easier.”

Reached for comment earlier in the results tally than the other two, Bouchard wasn’t aware of the dramatic reconfiguring of City Council. What she will tackle first when she gets back down to School Board business, leaving the election campaign in the past, would depend on its makeup, she said.

“I really from my heart believe that the city needs desperately to invest in their schools,” Bouchard said.

Test scores won’t be improved, she said, until “we take care of our teachers and make sure they are encouraged to stay because we value them.” Bus drivers also need better pay, she added.

“The most important thing I feel that I can do now is try to convince the City Council to take a long term investment in us,” Bouchard said.

Debranski suggested City Council has been directing taxpayers’ money “to places it shouldn’t have been put. It should have been put into public education.”

“The people spoke what they thought was right, and we are thankful for it,” he said.

Hinton said she worked hard on the campaign trail. “I handed out 5,000 pieces of literature and walked every neighborhood in this borough,” she said.

“The people made their decision and I can accept that. I can stand with my head held high knowing I’m a leader and knowing I’m qualified for this job.”

Gamble congratulated those who emerged victorious in both School Board and City Council elections. “The voters have voted and apparently they have those in office they want to be in office,” she said, adding she would continue working on education projects.

Enoch Copeland and Lorraine Skeeter will both return to the School Board after running unopposed.